Oct 20, 2012 - Splitting the team

Friday we decided to split up the team...Connie and Pat continued their tours of mansions while John and I headed for the International Yacht Restoration facility. The report from the mansion tourers was that they had a great time, but it could not possible have been as good as our visit to the boat re builders. This is a great big building right on the water in downtown Newport. You can climb the stairs to a catwalk that overlooks the floor and watch the work being done down below. Awesome place...we were really impressed by the size and...

Oct 19, 2012 - Sick As A Dog

Pathfinder got up yesterday...took a shower...suddenly blinding headache...wracked with coughs...shooting pains in the joints...muscle weakness....dizzy....Pat thinks a run to the hospital is in order...Pathfinder fights the idea off...every fiber of his being is in agony, but his tremendous spirit fights back...all day and all night in bed...the other three visit mansions, but he lies in bed in agony...this morning Pat insists on a trip to the doctor...Pathfinder relents, he knows whatever he has is so horrible it probably can not be...

Oct 18, 2012 - Wandering the Streets

Hung out in town yesterday.....walked around, checked out the shops. It's getting cooler here every day. Got to wear a jacket for sure as you wander around...John toughed it out in shorts yesterday, but I played it safe. We found the Rhumb Line restaurant yesterday...may go there tonight...plan today is to see the inside of some of the mansions. See you tomorrow Lobstah Man (sort of)

Oct 17, 2012 - Yeah, It's Newport all right.

Yesterday was our first full day in Newport. Took us a little while to get going, but by just a little after noon we were out of the door and down to the Visitor's Center. It was decided that it would make sense to get on one of the tour buses in order to get the "lay of the land". We had done this in Seattle and it worked out great there. So off we went on a tour of the area with our new bus-drivin' buddy, Roy. We grabbed the seats in the back of the bus, and good old Roy drove us around for a couple of hours, telling us a lot about the...

Oct 16, 2012 - Day 93 - To Smithfield, Rhode Island

This was a lazy drive day. Garry found a Holiday Rambler authorized dealer in Smithfield, Rhode Island which is just about 30 miles from us, so we took a drive to check it out. It turned out that they only serviced trailers even though they sold motorhomes, but not Holiday Rambler. Wasted trip but lovely drive. The leaves are still on most of the trees and are colorful. We took a wrong exit on our way back and ended up at the Emerald Square Shopping Center, Macy's, JCPenney, Kohl's and all usual mall stores. We spent a hour or so wandering...

Oct 16, 2012 - Made it to Portsmouth

Great visit with our friend Nancy...she took us to an Irish restaurant the specialized in huge meals that tasted great. It was really great seeing her again, and we hope she comes to Florida this winter. We miss our friend Mickey in Maine...she called us last night...what a great time we had there. No issues staying overnight in the Walmart in Haverhill, although the manager warned us that sometimes the cops chase the RVs out in the middle of the night. Then a really ugly drive to Portsmouth.......misled by the GPS....no truck stops...

Oct 16, 2012 - No, wait....we're in NEWPORT

10 minutes ago: me: Hey Hon, I just posted the blog Pat: What did you write about? me: Our trip here to Portsmouth Pat: What? me: Our trip here to Portsmouth Pat: We're in Newport me: Huh? I just went outside with John....she's right, it's Newport. Tell you all about it later.

Oct 15, 2012 - Providence, Rhode Island

I would not have thought of Providence, Rhode Island, as much of a tourist destination, but we certainly found enough to keep up pleasantly occupied all day. First stop was Scialo Bros.’ Italian bakery in the Federal Hill neighborhood. One of the owners was our host for the tour. After we snacked on cake and coffee, she showed us their rebuilt brick ovens and the crusty bread that came out of them. She had Joy pour liquid into a pie crust ready for the oven to demonstrate why they don’t fill the crusts with liquid and then scoot them into...

Oct 8, 2012 - Feeling good!

Newport, RI. Another day of accomplishments. We are working on a quilt made of t-shirts. It has presented some unique challenges, especially since we had no idea when we started how we were going to make it. If the shirt designs were all the same size, life would be so much easier. Instead we had to figure out how to incorporate a number of different sizes and make them all come out equal in the end – no small task! The fact that 2 cats were "helping" added to the challenge. We are also adding some unusual features such as 2 different types...

Oct 7, 2012 - Off to Scotland!

Newport, RI. We are so international! Yesterday were the Italian and Octoberfest celebrations and today we ventured to Scotland, Connecticut to attend the Scottish Highland Games. It was in a lovely setting at the Edward Waldo Homestead. It had a very fallish look to it with lots of leaves on the ground. We were able to browse through the vendors tents, learn about spinning thread and other old customs, and, of course, find lots of goodies to eat. We watched the opening ceremonies with the bands of bagpipers and saw (and heard) individual...

Oct 6, 2012 - Cross off another one!

Newport, RI. We have quite a sense of accomplishment for the day. We finished installing the shelving system, loaded the bars and shelves with clothes and NOTHING fell down! Yahoo! Another project crossed off the list. Then we replaced a door on a cupboard in the bathroom that our mother had ripped off its hinges when she visited in May. Got to watch her – one time she even torn the door knob off of the bathroom door and then had to be rescued! The repair was a task we had been dreading but we managed it. We have 3 more projects going as...

Oct 5, 2012 - Where did the time go?

Newport, RI. This was one of those hodgepodge days. After decorating the house for Halloween, we made a run to the airport in Providence, RI to drop niece Keelan at the airport. Then Barb and Sandi ran a ton of errands. It was late in the day by the time we got back to project work. One of those errands included a trip to the hardware store where Barb sweet talked one of the workers into modifying a piece for us that is part of a shelving system. Naturally we would be capable of doing it ourselves (we are unafraid to tackle almost anything)...